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Many believe that killing the leaders of terrorist organizations like Islamic State could change the course of events in Iraq and Syria. Like the cutting off of a snake’s head, eliminating the chief of a terrorist organization is assumed to deal it a fatal or near fatal blow. The U.S. government, for instance, has often boasted about eliminating major al Qaeda leaders, and viewed such assassinations as a clear mark of progress in the ‘global war on terror.’

Russian stocks are up today, for the fifth day in a row and at the highest level in two weeks. What's going on? As we wrote here earlier in the week, foreign investors have been fleeing this market. However it could be that some of them are starting to put aside concerns about the potential for further sanctions on Moscow and are scouring Russia's stock markets for contrarian buying opportunities.

from John Lloyd:

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In the small town of San Dona di Piave near Venice last Friday, an imam, Raoudi Albdelbar, asked Allah to, "Kill them all (the Jews), down to the last one; make poison of their food; transform the air that they breath into flames, and put terror in their hearts.” The imam was so proud of his sermon that he made a video of it and posted it on his Facebook page -- from where it went viral. Earlier this week, Italian antiterrorist police showed up and arrested the imam on charges of inciting violence, and began the process of expelling him to his native Morocco.

from Full Focus:

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Residents return to Homs, the "capital of the revolution" that was once vibrant with pro-democracy crowds but is now associated with images of ruin that epitomize the brutality of Syria's civil war. A complex deal ends years of siege between rebels and forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad. The fall of Syria's third largest city to government forces is a major blow to the opposition and a boost for Assad.